Bathing Venus
Venus’s sinuous pose and sleek surface invited Renaissance viewers to turn the statuette around in their hands and delight the senses of sight and touch. Giambologna invented the groundbreaking composition, called a figura serpentinata, in which bodies "twist like flames" and can be appreciated equally from every vantage point. This bronze’s immaculate casting and fine tooling reveal the goldsmith training of Susini, who was Giambologna’s principal assistant.
Artwork Details
- Title: Bathing Venus
- Artist: After a model by Giambologna (Netherlandish, Douai 1529–1608 Florence)
- Date: early 17th century
- Culture: Italian, Florence
- Medium: Bronze
- Dimensions: Height: 13 1/4 in. (33.7 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture-Bronze
- Credit Line: Gift of Ogden Mills, 1924
- Object Number: 24.212.16
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
More Artwork
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.